Latch



May 11, 1937. E. c. WILSON ,0

' LATCH Filed April 21, 1936 s Sheets-Sheet 1 l'izveizfor.

2' (Ma. (21017502), /2 V661 M f1 H, 1937. E.- c. WILSON 2,080,218

. LATCH Filed April 21. 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Y 1937.- E. c. WILSON2,080,218

' LATCH Filed April 21, 1936 s Sheets-Sheet 3' Patented May 11, 1937 a LUNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,080,218

I LATCH Elihu C. WilsonjLos Angele s. Calif., assignor of twenty-fiveper cent to Eva Pearl Wilson, twenty-five per cent to Elizabeth J.Farrar, both of Los Angeles, Calif., and twenty-five per cent toAdelaide B. Booth, Culver City, Calif.

- Application April 21, 1936, Serial No. 75,578

19 Claims. (01. aim-#336) This invention has to do generally with latchFig. 4 is a view lookinginto the bottom of the mechanisms, andparticularly of the type mounted latch in the aspectof Fig. 3;

on the outside of cabinets and the like. By rea- Fig. 5 is a section online 5-5 of Figs. 3 and 4. son of certain features and characteristicslater showing the latch parts in their normal closed 5 described, thepresent latch is especially suitable positions; 5 for use onrefrigerator cabinets wherein an air Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5showing the tight seal isprovided around the door by keeping positionsof the parts with the handle in full the latter pressed tightly againsta resilient and open position; V i a, compressible gasket or door framelining. Figs. '7 and 8 are views showing the relative One of myprincipal objects is to provide a positionsof the crank arm andkeepercorre- 10 spring latch having self closing characteristics sponding toFigs. 5 and 6, respectively; enabling the latch not only to hold thedoor Fig. 9 shows the position of the locking element closed, but toapply and constantly maintain on with the crank being held partiallyopen; the door, sufiicient pressure or power to tightly Fig. 10illustrates the position of the locking compress a gasket against whichthe door may element at the point of crank release; 16

close, thereby assuring an'air tight seal. 'In this Fig. 10a is afragmentary section on line respect, the presentlatch is particularlyadvan- Illa-Illa of Fig. 10; tageous and effective in that it is notdependent Fig. 11 is a section on line llll of Fig. 5; in its closingaction upon the 'door first being Fig. 12 is a plan view, partly insection, as

manually swung to fully closed position, that is indicated by linel2--l2 of Fig. 13, showing a vari- 20 to a final position in which thegasket is fully ational' form of the invention; compressed. Instead, thelatch itself acts to Fig. 13 is a longitudinal section on line I3l3crowd the door against and to fully compress of Fig. 12, the cap portionof the body being the gasket, without pressure having to be appliedremoved in this view; and

g5 manually. Another feature of the invention is Figs. 14 and 15 arefragmentary views illustrat- 25,

the elimination of any possibility of the parts ing different positionsof the latch mechanism.

of the latch becoming broken or damaged as a In Fig. 1, I have shown thelatch mechanism, 7 result of the latching member being slammed orgenerally indicated at H], applied to the cabinet otherwiseforciblyclosed against the keeper. As C of a refrigerator or the like,the keeper ll is commonly known, this is a fault inherent in beingattached to the cabinet frame [2 by screws 0' many spring latches ofthis general type. The ini3, and the crank operating part l4 of thelatch vention overcomes any such difliculties by probeing secured to thedoor l6 by screws 15. 'As viding a latch mechanism which actsautopreviously mentioned, the presentlatch is par-- matically uponopening movement and subseticularly suitable for cabinets in which thedoor quent release of the handle as the door is opened, closes against agasket or other sealing means 5 to retain the latching member inpartially open that is compressed as the door is brought to or retractedposition, instead of in closed or profully closed position. According tothe customary jected position, so that the resistance which it practiceof using agasket to provide an air-tight encounters upon engagement withthe keeper as seal around a refrigerator cabinet door, as illus- 40thedoor is swung shut, will be insufficient to cause tratedtin Fig. 2,the door. frame I2 is lined with 40 any injury to the latch. a tubularrubber gasket l'l against which the The invention serves variousadditional objects, outer shoulder 16a of the door closes. It will andembodies numerous other features contribut-' be understood that byreason of the compressibiling to the provision of a highly satisfactoryand ity of the gasket, the latter offers a yielding reefficient latch.All. these however will be most sistance to closing of the doonand thatthe 5 readily understood and explained to best adtighter the door ispressedagainst the gasket vantage in the following detailed descriptionof the more effectively will the gasket seal around theinvention in oneof its typical and preferred the door.

forms. Reference is had throughout the descrip- As best illustrated inFigs. 7 to 9, the keeper tion to the accompanying drawings, in which: II comprises a base If! fastened to the door frame, 50

' Fig. 1is an elevation showing the latch applied and a hook-shapedportion l9 having a crank to a refrigerator cabinet; arm receivingopening 20 at one side. of the web- Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 ofFig. 1; 2i. [Portion I9 is shaped to provide a beveled Fig. 3- is a planview of the latch mechanism surface 22 and an interior beveled orangular.55 placed horizontally;: shoulder 23, the outer portion 23a of whichslopes with relatively great angularity or curvature to- Ward the basel8, and the inner portion 231) having a slope in that direction ofsomewhat less angularity. The crank engages and moves along 5 theangular keeper shoulder 23, and is influenced by the particular shape ofthe shoulder to accomplish a progressive tightening of the door closureagainst the gasket ll, all in the manner hereinafter described.

The crank arm operating mechanism is contained within a hollow body 25having flanged ends 250. and a cover piece 26 secured to the otherportion 25 of the body by screws 2?, as best illustrated in Figs. 4 and5. The body contains an oscillatory part 28, which I term generally thelatching member, comprising a shaft 29 journaled in bearings 36 formedin the body between portions 25 and 26, and an integral crank-shaped arm3| having at its outer end a wrist pin 32 carrying a roller 33 which isreceived within the keeper In certain of its broad aspects, theinvention is not necessarily limited to the use of a latching member ofany particular shape, although I prefer, for various reasons that willbe apparent from the following description, to make it in the form of anoscillatory crank. Normally the crank arm is yieldably pressed in adirection tending to move the roller 33 into the keeper, see

Figs. 5 and 7, by a pair of strong coil springs 34 attached at 35 to thebody and at 36 to the hookedextremities 37, see Fig. 11, of a bifurcatedprojection 38 on the shaft 29. It may be mentioned at this point thatsprings 36 not only act to swing the crank arm into the keeper, but, byvirtue of their strength, also to exert through the crank a strongclosing force on the door acting to press it tightly against the gasketH.

The crank arm is rotated to withdraw it from the keeper by means of ahandle 5 extending through a slot 4| in the cover portion 26 of thebody. The shaft 29 extends through an opening in the inner end 45a ofthe handle, see Fig. 11, so that the handle is pivotally mounted on theshaft and capable of rotation relative thereto. Swinging the handle fromthe position of Fig. 5 'to that of Fig. 6, causes the crank arm 3| to beswung sufficiently to bring roller 33 clear of the keeper, by theengagement of shoulder 62 on the handle with an angular shoulder 43 onlug 44 projecting from the shaft 29. A force is constantly applied tothe handle 40, tending to return it to what may be termed the closedposition of Figs. 5 and 9, by a coil spring 45 fastened at 46 to thehandle, and at ll, see Fig. 4, to a tongue-shaped portion 48 of the bodywhich, as will presently appear, serves as a stop for the lookingelement.

For the purpose of holding the crank arm in partially open position Iprovide a locking device, indicated at 49, which may be generallydescribed as serving to lock the latching member 28 against closingmovement under the influence of springs 34, once the crank has beenswung to at least partially open position, and which op- 65 erates torelease the crank into the keeper, as a result of the crank beingbrought into engagement with the keeper as the door is closed. In itspreferred form, the locking device comprises a detent bar 49a pivotallysupported at one end 70 on pin 58, and having near its opposite end anopening 5| which receives a lug 52 projecting from shaft 29 at a pointbetween the spring attachment arms 37, see Fig. 11. When the latch isclosed, with the parts in the positions shown in Fig. 5, locking bar 59ais held out of engagement As the handle 46 is swung toward openposition, however, locking bar 49a is brought into engagement with lug52 by means of a yielding connection between the bar and handle whichbecomes efiective to swing the bar against the resistance of spring 53only after the handle has been swung some distance in an openingdirection. This yielding connection between the handle and lock barconsists of coil spring 55 fastened at 56 to the handle and having anopposite looped end 56a passing through the bar 49a. The looped end 56aof the spring provides, in effect, a lost motion connection with thelock bar, the loop being sufficiently long that not until handle 40 hasbeen swung say 5 or 10 from the closed position of Fig. 5, will the endof the loop 56a engage bar 49a to pull it down against lug 52. Thus,such lost motion connection between spring 55 and the locking barenables spring 53 to keep the latter disengaged from lug 52 when thehandle is closed, without having to maintain a nicety of balance betweenthe forces exerted by springs 55 and 53, that would be required in theabsence of some such allowance for lost motion in the connection ofspring 55.

The operation of the latch may best be explained by first starting withthe parts in the closed position of Fig. 5 in which, as seen byreference to Fig. '7, the crank roller 33 is thrust into the keeper tohold the door l6 pressed against gasket II. The latch is opened and thecrank arm 3| swung to the position of Fig. 8 in which roller 33 clearsthe rounded nose |9a of the keeper, by swinging handle 40 to theposition of Fig. 6, the crank being rotated as a result of theengagement of the handle shoulder 42 with shaft lug 44, as previouslyexplained. While the handle is being swung open, latch bar 49a is pulledinto engagement with shaft lug 52 by spring 55 being brought into actionto overcome the thrust of spring 53. When the face S of lug 52, swingingin the direction of the arrow in Fig. 6, reaches the end of slot 5| inthe locking bar, the latter snaps down to the position of Fig. 6,locking lug 52 within opening 5|. In order to bring roller 33 clear ofthe keeper, it is necessary to swing the handle 40 to such an extent asto rotate lug 52 somewhat beyond the point at which surface S justclears the end of the lock bar opening 5|, as will be seen from Fig. 6.

It will be understood that the crank is swung open by handle 46 againstthe resistance of springs 34, which tend to swing the crank in a closingdirection. Upon releasing the handle in the position of Fig. 6, thecrank is swung in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 9 to bring lug 52into engagement with the end of opening 5|, and is locked againstfurther closing movement until the lock bar is released. The handle,however, is returned to fully closed position by the pull exerted byspring 45. Fig. 9 shows the relative positions of the roller 33 andkeeper when the door is being swung closed with the crank held by thelocking bar. As the door is swung closed, roller 33 is brought intoengagement with the beveled keeper surface 22 near the rounded nose |9a,thus requiring the exertion of some force, though relatively small, onthe door to cause the crank arm to be cammed outwardly to the positionof Fig. 10, and roller 33 to ride over the nose of the keeper. Duringthis movement,

thecrank-is swung in the direction of the arrow inFig." to back lug 52out of the latch bar opening 5|, whereupon spring 53 presses the lockbar up againststop to free it from the shaft 53 lug=.' Springs 34thereupon exert astrong closing force on the crank, tending to swing ittowardthe position of Fig. 7 with roller 33 riding along surfaces 23aand 23b. These are two cooperating factors each servlng as a take-upmeans for crowding the door toward a completely closed position andcompressing the-resilient rubber gasket I! against which the-door isclosed. In the first place, when roller 23 contactsthebeveled or curvedface 23a of the keeper, and as the roller is pulled into the keeper bysprings 34, the surface 23 acts as a camwhich quickly crowds the dooragainst the resilient rubber gasket I1. Since initial compression of thegasket requires less force than mm compression, the initial power can beapplied more suddenly and to a greater degree than is necessary tofinally complete the compression of'the gasket. Thus the keeper surface23a. is given somewhat greater angularity to cause the crank to quicklycompress the gasket during the first interval of its travel into thekeeper. Then, by reason of the lesser angularity of surface 23b and itscorrespondingly greater wedging action, thepower of springs 34 isapplied with greater advantage during the last portion of the cranktravel into the keeper, to obtain the greatest.

pressure against the gasket and thus complete its final compression. Thesecond "take-up eifect results from the swing of the crank arm from oneside to the other of the extreme outer point of contact between theroller and the keeper. Thus in Fig. 8, wherein the'center of theshaft/29 is shown to be positioned substantially in line with the outersurfaoe ofthe keeper nose I9a, arm 3i will be seen to. have swung to theright of the center line L-L when in full open position. In closing tothe position of Fig. 7, however, the crank swings to the opposite sideof the center line, and in so doing, crowds roller 33 against surface 23to pull the door more tightly against the gasket.

As mentioned, relatively little closing force applied to the door isnecessary to cam roller 33 outwardly from the position of Fig. 9 to thatof Fig. 10, due to the amount of initial offset of roller 33 relative tothe nose of the keeper, and

the'angularity of beveled surface 22. However,

regardless of the closing force applied to the door, and regardless ofhow hard it may be slammed shut, by no possibility can the crank orother parts of the latch be damaged because, in closing, the crankalways will readily be deflected outward to pass the extremity of thekeeper.

In Figs. 12 to 15 I show a variational embodiment of the invention thatis generally similar to the previously described form, but improved incertain respects, particularly as it is somewhat more compact, certaincastings are more easily *manufacturedand the working parts are placedin such position that the latch is more readily assembled. The generalshape and construction of the body 60, cover piece 6|, keeper 62, aswell as the latch operating handle 63, the crank arm latching member 64,and its mountingwithin the body, all are similar, to the correspondingparts in the first described formof the invention. Aside ,from otherrelatively minor differences,

with the locking member lug 66.

Coil springs 61 connected at 68 to the latching member and acting tothrust the crank arm roller 69 into the keeper, are attached to pin 19extending through body lugs "H. On this pin, between the lugs, ispivotally mounted the lock bar 12 extending longitudinally within thebody, the bar being notched at '13, see Fig. 12, to provide a shoulder14 adapted to engage lug 66. When the parts are in the position of Figs.12

and 13, bar 12 is swung out of locking engage-- ment with the latchingmember lug 66, by the action of spring 15 attached to lug l6 and to apost or lug TI integral with the cover piece 6L The opposite end of bar12 is yieldably connected with the handle 63 by way of coil spring 18,the looped end 18a of the spring extending around the end portion 12a ofthe lock bar. As illustrated in Fig. 13, when the handle 63 is in closedposition, bar 12 is held clear of lug 66 by spring.

15, in which position the bar engages the end of the looped portion 16aof spring 18. Spring 19, connecting handle 63 with the body at 80,serves to return the handle to normal position after the latch isoperated.

To release the latching member from the keeper, assuming the parts to bein the closed position of Figs. 12 and 13, handle 63 is swung towithdraw the crank arm roller 69 from the keeper and to clear lug 66 ofengagement with shoulder 14 of the lock bar, as illustrated in Fig. 14.As the handle is swung, spring 18 overcomes the resistance of spring 15,swinging the lock bar toward lug 66 so as to position shoulder 14 forengagement by the lug after the handle is released, and to lock thecrank arm in the partially open position of Fig. 15. From the previouslygiven explanation of the operation of the first described form of theinvention, it will be clear how closing movement of the door causes thecrank arm and roller 69 to be cammed outwardly from the position of Fig.15 by engagement with the keeper 62, and lug 66 disengaged from the lockbar and the latter swung by spring to the position of Fig. 13,permitting the latching member to be thrust into the keeper by theaction of coil springs 61.

I claim:

1. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper, thecombination comprising, a latching member rotatable about an axis andheld against substantial movement longitudinally thereof, said memberbeing adapted to be releasably retained by the keeper, a handle formoving said member to an open position of disengagement from saidkeeper, means independent of said handle for holding said member inpartially open position, and means for releasing said holding means bythe engagement of said member with the keeper to permit the member toclose into the keeper.

2. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper, thecombination comprising, an oscillatory crank-shaped arm rotatable aboutan axis and held against substantial movement longitudinally thereof,said arm being adapted to be releasably retained by the keeper, a handlefor swinging said arm to an open position of disengagement from saidkeeper, means independent of said handle for holding said arm inpartially open position, and means for releasing said holdinglmeans bythe engagement of said mounting of the lock bar 12 which cooperates Ellarm with thekeeper to permit the arm to close into the keeper.

3. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper, thecombination comprising, a latching member rotatable about an axis andheld against substantial movement longitudinal- 1y thereof, said memberbeing adapted to be releasably retained by the keeper, a handle formoving said member to an open position of disengagement from saidkeeper, means independent of said handle for holding said member inpartially open position, means for releasing said holding means by theengagement of said member with the keeper to permit the member to closeinto the keeper, and yielding means thrusting said member into saidkeeper.

4. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper, thecombination comprising, a latching member rotatable about an axis and 20held against substantial movement longitudinal- "tially open position,yielding means for pressing 1y thereof, said member being adapted to bereleasably retained by the keeper, said keeper hav ing a base and asurface extending angularly toward said base and along which said membermoves in closing, a handle for moving said member to an open position ofdisengagement from said keeper, means independent of said handle forholding said member in partially open position, means for releasing saidholding means by the engagement of said member with the keeper to permitthe member to close into the keeper, and yielding means thrusting saidmember into said keeper.

5. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper, thecombination comprising, a latching member adapted to be releasablyretained by the keeper, a, handle for moving said member to an openposition of disengagement from said keeper, a locking element operatingindependently of said handle to hold said member in partially openposition, yielding means for pressing said element into lockingengagement with the member when said handle is moved toward openposition, and means for releasing said holding means by the engagementof said member with the keeper to permit the member to close into thekeeper.

6. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper, thecombination comprising, a member adapted to be releasably retained bythe keeper, a handle for moving said member to open position ofdisengagement from said keeper, a locking element operatingindependently of said handle to hold said member in parsaid element intolocking engagement with the member when said handle is moved toward openposition, means holding said element out of looking engagement with themember when the handle is in closed position, and means for releasingsaid holding means by the engagement of said member with the keeper topermit the member to close into the keeper.

'7. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper, thecombination comprising, a latching member including an oscillatorycrankshaped arm adapted to be releasably retained by the keeper, ahandle for swinging said arm to an open position of disengagement fromsaid keeper, means independent of said handle for holding said arm inpartially open position, a pair of bearings journaling said member andwithin which said member is confined against substantial movementaxially of the bearings, yielding means acting to thrust said arm intothe keeper, and means for releasing said holding means by the engagementof said arm with the keeper to permit the arm to close into the keeper.

8. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper, thecombination comprising, a body, a latching member including a shaftjournaled in said body and an oscillatory crank from said keeper, and aprojection on said shaft engageable by the handle to swing said arm toopen position.

with a keeper, the combination comprising, a body, a latching memberincluding a shaft journaled in said body and an oscillatory crankshapedarm adapted to be releasably retained said arm into the keeper, andyielding means, independent of the last mentioned means, re-

sisting movement of said handle to crank arm opening position.

10. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper, thecombination comprising, a body, a latching member including a shaftjournaled in said body and an oscillatory crankshaped arm adapted to bereleasably retained by the keeper, a handle pivotally mounted on saidshaft and operable to rotate the shaft to move said arm to an openposition of disengagement from said keeper, and. yielding means actingto rotate said shaft and thrust said arm into the keeper.

11. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper, thecombination comprising,

a body, a latching member including a shaft journaled and held againstsubstantial axial movement in said body and an oscillatory crankshapedarm adapted to be releasably retained by the keeper, a handle for movingsaid arm to an open position of disengagement from said keeper, yieldingmeans acting to thrust said arm into the keeper, and locking means forholding said arm in partially open position, said lock-,

ing means comprising a locking element pivotally mounted within the bodyand releasably engaging said projection on said shaft.

13. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper, thecombination comprising,'

a body, a latching member including a shaft journaled in said body andan oscillatory crankshaped arm adapted to be releasably retained by thekeeper, a handle for moving said arm to an open position ofdisengagement from said keeper, yielding means acting to thrust said armj into the keeper, locking means for holding said' 9. In a latchmechanism adapted to cooperatev arm in partially open position, saidlocking means comprising a locking element pivotally mounted within thebody and releasably engaging a projection on said shaft, and yieldingmeans urging the locking element into engagement with said projectionwhen said handle is moved to swing the arm to open position.

14. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper, thecombination comprising, a body, a latching member including a shaftjournaled in said body and an oscillatory crankshaped arm adapted to bereleasably retained by the keeper, said shaft being rotatable byengagement of said arm with the keeper, a handle for moving said arm toan open position of disengagement from said keeper, yielding meansacting to thrust said arm into the keeper, a locking element adapted toreleasably engage a projection on said shaft to hold the arm inpartially open position, said element being releasable by engagement ofsaid arm with the keeper to permit the arm to close into the keeper,yielding means urging the locking element into engagement with saidprojection when said handle is moved to swing the arm to open position,and yielding means acting to move said element out of locking engagementwith said projection when said shaft is turned by the engagement of saidarm with the keeper.

15. In a latch adapted to cooperate with a keeper having a hook-shapedpart, the combination comprising a housing, an oscillatory latchingmember including a shaft journaled in bearings within said housing, acrank arm mounted on one end of said shaft and having a wrist pincarrying a roller adapted to be received within the hook-shaped part ofthe keeper, a handle mounted on said shaft and operable to swing thecrank arm to disengage said roller from the keeper, yielding meansconnected to said shaft within the housing and urging said arm in aclosing direction, a locking element operating to hold said crank arm inpartially open position, and yielding means for actuating said lockingelement.

16. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a hook-shaped keeper,the combination comprising a housing, an oscillatory latching memberadapted to close into said keeper and including a shaft journaled withinsaid housing, and a crank arm mounted on one end of the shaft and havinga wrist pin carrying a roller; a projection on said shaft, a crank armactuating spring attached to said projection, and

means for holding said crank arm in partially open position, said meanscomprising a pivotally mounted bar, means on said shaft engageable withsaid bar, and yielding means for actuating the bar.

17. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a hook-shaped keeperhaving an outer beveled face, the combination comprising a housing, anoscillatory latching member including a shaft journaled in bearingswithin said housing, a crank arm mounted on one end of said shaft andhaving a wrist pin carrying a roller, a projection on said shaft, aspring con nected to said projection and urging said crank arm towardclosed position, means for holding said arm in partially open position,said means comprising a pivotally mounted bar and a member carried onsaid shaft engageable with said bar, yielding means for actuating saidbar, said roller being adapted to engage the beveled face of the keeperand acting to swing said crank arm to open position andthereby releasesaid bar from holding engagement with said second mentioned member.

18. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper having abase and a surface extending angularly toward said base, the combinationcomprising, a latching member including an oscillatory crank-shaped armadapted to be releasably retained by the keeper and to move along saidsurface in closing into the keeper, a handle for swinging said arm to anopen position of disengagement from said keeper, means independent ofsaid handle for holding said arm in partially open position, a pair ofbearings journaling said member and within which said member is confinedagainst substantial movement axially of the bearings, yielding meansacting to thrust said arm into the keeper along said keeper surface,means for releasing said holding means by the engagement of said armwith the keeper to permit the arm to close into the keeper.

19. In a latch mechanism adapted to cooperate with a keeper having abase and a crank arm engaging surface extending inwardly from the mouthof the keeper opening toward said base at a relatively great angle andthen at a lesser angle, the combination comprising, a body, a latchingmember including a shaft journaled in said body and an oscillatorycrank-shaped arm adapted to be releasably retained by the keeper, ahandlev pivotally mounted on said shaft and extending through an openingin the body and cooperating with said shaft to rotate the shaft andswing the crank arm to an open position of disengagement from saidkeeper, and yielding means acting to thrust said arm into the keeper.

ELIHU C. WILSON.

